Athletics: Hodgkinson Sets World Lead In Comeback Race

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson set an 800m world lead in her first race since winning gold at the Paris Olympics.

The 23-year-old returned to action in Silesia for the first time in 376 days in emphatic fashion.

Hodgkinson, whose return from the hamstring injury she sustained in February has been delayed by setbacks, set a new meeting record of 1:54.74 to finish well clear of Kenya’s Lilian Odira and Botswana’s Oratile Nowe.

The Briton’s time was her second-fastest ever – and the fastest by any runner since her victory in the 800m final at Paris 2024.

Hodgkinson is now setting her sights on the World Championships in Tokyo, which get under way on 13 September.

“That was so much fun,” she said after victory in a race which took place before Saturday’s main Diamond League programme.

“I planned to run a fast time because I do not have five races any more before Tokyo, I only have today and the meeting in Lausanne.

“So it had to be fast and I am happy that it worked.”

Hodgkinson will be hoping to upgrade silver to gold at the Worlds, having finished second at both the two previous editions – in 2022 and 2023.

Thompson beats Lyles in 100m showdown
In the main Diamond League action, Kishane Thompson equalled a meeting record to beat Olympic champion Noah Lyles in their first 100m race against each other since the final at Paris 2024.

American Lyles got the better of Thompson to win Olympic gold last year, but the Jamaican was victorious in Poland, clocking 9.87 seconds to edge out his rival by 0.03secs.

“My job is to get the job done. Honestly, I compete against myself, no offence to the competition,” said Thompson.

Sweden’s world record holder Armand Duplantis once again secured victory in the men’s pole vault with a best of 6.10m.

It was not quite the 6.29m that saw the 25-year-old break the world record for the 13th time last week, but it was still enough to take the win ahead of Emmanouil Karalis and Kurtis Marschall.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, Femke Bol of the Netherlands extended her world lead to 51.91s as she sealed her 29th successive Diamond League victory – while Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon missed out on a new world record in the women’s 3,000m by less than a second.

The three-time Olympic 1500m champion crossed the line in a time of 8:07.04, falling just short of the record set by China’s Wang Junxia of 8:06.11 in 1993.

“I am so happy,” Kipyegon said. “I saw the world record red line during the race but today it was very hot.

“I am grateful for what I have done. All those records, this is what I love doing. I want to be an inspiration for young people and I love to challenge myself.”

American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden equalled a meeting record to win the women’s 100m with Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith seventh.

Hunter Bell finishes third in 1500m
Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell put in a strong performance to finish third in the women’s 1500m.

The Olympic bronze medallist crossed the line in 3:56.00, behind Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay who ran a meeting record of 3:50.52 to win and Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet (3:54.73).

Elsewhere, GB’s Amber Anning was fourth in the women’s 400m, while Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita were fourth and fifth respectively in the women’s 200m.

Neil Gourley was 13th in the men’s 1500m, with Alexandra Millard and Eloise Walker finishing 14th and 17th in the 3,000m race where Kipyegon nearly broke the world record.

Bbc.com